Spotify has already let its intentions out, that of generating more than $100 billion in revenue and a billion-plus user base within the next decade. The company had also stated they are betting big on audiobooks and podcasts to reach that goal. That the streaming giant is serious with its intentions is evident from a recent revelation, that of acquiring the AI voice platform Sonantic, Spotify revealed in a blog post.

The acquisition makes a lot of sense for Spotify given that it can leverage the rich experience Sonantic has acquired over the years in creating the most realistic artificially generated voices that would be hard to make out from real ones. Needless to say, Spotify will want to have such advanced voice technology at its disposal to narrate the audiobooks without making them sound unreal or artificial. This, Spotify believes will allow its users to have a really immersive listening experience that would mimic the best that the industry has to offer.

“We’re really excited about the potential to bring Sonantic’s AI Voice technology onto the Spotify platform and create new experiences for our users,” says Ziad Sultan, Spotify’s Vice President of Personalization. “This integration will enable us to engage users in a new and even more personalized way.”

Sonantic describes their latest voice technology as one that is closest to the real thing that has ever been possible before. Their artificially generated voice can flirt, cry, and shout with enough emotions in it to make it all sound real. This enabled media professionals a bold new option to infuse life in a character using what can be said as custom voices.

Among their most memorable projects has been their association with Val Kilmer wherein they have been able to recreate their voice after he lost his own due to throat cancer. The Sonantic team used his past voice sample to recreate his voice all over again. Plus, Sonantic also worked with Mercedes Benz to make the Hey Mercedes voice assistant sound more realistic.

“We’re looking forward to joining Spotify and continuing to build exciting voice experiences,” said Sonantic co-founders Zeena Qureshi and John Flynn in a joint statement. “We believe in the power voice has and its ability to foster a deeper connection with listeners around the world, and we know we can be better than ever on the world’s largest audio platform.”

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